Yoga and Chakras – The Fourth Chakra Anahata “The Heart Chakra”

The Anhata Chakra is the 4th of the 7 yoga chakrasand means “Unstruck Sound”. The 4th Chakra is the Heart Chakra.

The heart chakra the color is green, and sometimes pink, the symbol is a circular flower with twelve green petals. Inside of the circle are two overlapping triangles which represent the union of male and female.

When the heart chakra is balanced we radiate divine love and feel deeply connected to others. The 4th Chakra represents unconditional love for ourselves and others.This chakra connects the bottom three chakras to the upper three taking us from our basic needs and animal nature to our divine and spiritual nature. Those with open heart chakras have a highly developed sense of touch. Their peaceful energy and compassionate touch are very healing to those around them.

Backbends will be paticullary difficult for those with blocked heart chakras as they feel unsafe. A blocked 4th Chakra manifest as an inability to open up and be vulnerbale in the area of the heart. Obviously, backbends require a total surrender in the area of the heart.

I would like to note that the third chakra supports the 4th chakra here providing the strength to let go in a safe way. People without the support of the third chakra will bend until they break. They often lack personal boundaries. The focus here is on opening the area around the heart. Mobilizing the upper back and opening the front of the chest are crucial.

Special attention should be brought to opening the hip flexors, psoas and thighs (2nd Chakra stuff) as well so as not to hinge in the lower spine in an attempt to backbend.

Yes, during Savasana I feel more blissful than I can even put into words. I think it is one of the reasons I have stuck with yoga over the ten years I have been practicing. I figured if I could “just make it to savasna” everything would be okay. There are plenty of times I showed up on my mat for that reason,..and sometimes that reason only. haha. Anyways, I am grateful for it and what it has done to keep me close to this incredible gift of a daily yoga practice.